This was a particularly difficult drawing because the field of view was obviously covered in stars. But I tried to capture what I saw as well as possible. I wasn't able to fully resolve the lovely companion of M35, probably because 85x is a bit too low for that. Also the drawing isn't exactly finished because at a certain point the moon started to rise above the horizon and to make things worse a thick cloud began to cover the entire sky. But I got most of it anyway.

It's nice to hear that someone's had a similar view in a similar telescope because it means that my impression wasn't that far off. As I said, I could hardly see individual stars in NGC2158 because 85x were a bit too few for that. But I did see some...

I was just looking at this object last night and thought I had seen a recent post about it. Sorry to take so long to look at your drawing--you really did a fine job on it. Those arcing strings of stars in M35 really catch the eye.

I was much too intimidated by all the stars in this OC to attempt a sketch--hats off to you. NGC 2158 is more my speed--a hazy patch of light. I looked at it at 170x and it still looked like a hazy patch, but the 1st quarter Moon and very poor seeing were limiting factors. I suspect the stars you recorded in your sketch are foreground stars since 2158 is ~16,000 lys distant. What do you think?

Anyway, you have inspired me to sketch 2158 first chance I get. Thanks for posting your fine drawing.

Well, Michael, you do have a point. I did see some individual stars and those are the ones I drew. On the other hand, I haven't looked at it at high mags recently, but nevertheless I believe that resolving it is certainly doable, just like you can easily resolve globulars that are even further out. Next time (when hopefully the sky becomes clear again... it's been cloudy for a week here...) I'll try it at 150x-200x.

I have never studied NGC 2158 carefully (until now) but my guess too, is that under favorable circumstances and high enough magnification it should at least show granulation and perhaps resolve to stars. It is a very large and dense open cluster and was historically taken for a glob by some astronomers. More info here:http://messier.seds.org/m/m035.html

I think I'll ask around in the DSO forum and see what people there have observed. Conditions here are clear but continue with poor seeing and moonlight so I think I'll wait until Luna begins to wane and have a high power look then.

This afternoon the sky over here cleared out and visibility is currently >10km. So that promises for tonight. But as you said, Luna'll be a restrictive factor. But on NGC2158 it shouldn't cause to many problems, at least to see whether it does resolve or not. I'll let you know!

I got this feedback from some experienced observers in the DSO forum. So perhaps those stars you saw and recorded were in the cluster and not in the foreground like I conjectured. I'm looking forward to getting another look at 2158 under better conditions--hope you do, too.

Thanks, Michael! So it looks like my observation was correct. I haven't been able to check again the other day because cloud patches and the bright moon prevented me from doing some serious observation. But I hope that once the full moon's gone I can have another try.

You're so kind, Jason... But whether it's my drawing or somebody else's, you're right. Not one photo can deliver the same sensation like when you're out there with the telescope. Thanks for the wonderful comment.